Another 75 acres saved as farmland forever

County buys easement for 75-acre Etchison property

County Executive Isiah Leggett, landowner W. Drew Stabler and Jeremy Criss, of the Department of Economic Development, at Thursday's ceremony.

When County Executive Isiah Leggett traveled the scenic, snow-covered unpaved road into the heart of W. Drew Stabler's farm near Damascus last Thursday, he could rest assured the picturesque rural scene surrounding him would be there for generations to come.

With the acquisition of an easement for the 75-acre Sunny Ridge Farm on Damascus Road in Etchison last month, the county reached its 20-year goal of protecting 70,000 acres of farmland throughout Montgomery by the year 2010.

Leggett (D) made the announcement flanked by a 15-foot-tall harvesting machine, Stabler, wearing a farmer's work clothes, and a free-wandering farm dog.

"I feel that in my life I've been able to do what I love and make a living at it, and I am thankful for that," Stabler said.

He said he hopes preserving farmland in the county will give the same opportunity to other farmers.

"Agriculture contributes $252 million per year to the economy of this county" Leggett said. "In reaching the goal of 70,000 acres of preserved farmland set back in 1989, Montgomery County becomes home to the nation's highest percentage of preserved agricultural land."

Lancaster County in Pennsylvania boasts the most total preserved farmland in the country, with Montgomery County coming in second, according to John Zawitoski, Farmland Preservation Programs director for the Agricultural Services Division of the county's Department of Economic Development.

The Lancaster County Agricultural Preserve Board verified that it has more than 80,000 acres in preserve.

The easement to the Stabler farm was purchased for $591,532, Zawitoski said.

The County Council adopted the County Agricultural Easement Program in 1987 to ensure land will only be used for agricultural purposes, such as farming and raising horses.

The program is funded 60 percent by state money and 40 percent by county money, Zawitoski said last summer.

The 75-acre farm is now part of a 500-acre contiguous block of agricultural land in northern Montgomery County.

The county reached its 70,000-acre goal a year ahead of schedule in part because of the residential real estate slowdown and sluggish economy, county officials reported.

There were reduced opportunities for Transferable Development Rights deals, prompting more landowners to apply for farmland preservation programs.

The Transferable Development Rights program ensures that undeveloped land will stay that way by allowing developers to give money to farmers in exchange for permission to build higher-density development in other places.

Of the 316,000 total acres in the county, about 93,000 are within the county's Agricultural Reserve, but not all of those acres are used for agricultural purposes.

There are 577 farms and 350 horticultural enterprises in the county, according to officials at the Department of Economic Development. Most farms are family run, many reaching back several generations.

There are more than a half-dozen preservation programs that offer different levels of protection for rural landowners, Zawitoski said.